National survey on nurse shortage kicks off annual conference 

This year’s FNHP professional issues conference in Washington, D.C., kicked off with the release of unprecedented survey findings showing that the state of America’s nurse shortage is going to be worse than expected.

AFT president Sandra Feldman told an April 19 press conference that the results of a national Peter Hart Research survey of nurses across the nation shows that one in five nurses now working is seriously thinking of leaving the profession.

"They’re fed up," said Feldman. Nurses’ hours are too irregular, they’re not paid enough, they don’t have enough time to do what they need to do, she noted. "It’s an awful situation."

Two parallel surveys looked at nurses throughout the country who are currently in direct patient care and those who have left it. "One in five nurses between the ages of 18-59 expects to leave direct patient care in the next five years—not because of retirement but because of the difficult working conditions," said Feldman. Fully 54 percent of working nurses say that within the past two years they have considered leaving the patient-care field either to retire or to do a different kind of job.

Some 68 percent of the nurses currently working say morale where they work is fair or poor; of those thinking of leaving, it’s 81 percent, noted Feldman. Almost half say they’d pursue another career if they were just starting out; 75 percent of those planning on leaving expressed this feeling.

"The silver lining is that the nurses threatening to leave say they would consider staying if improvements are made, including better staffing levels, more flexible schedules, and higher salaries," said Feldman. "Hospitals have to do what it takes to retain the nurses they have, try to bring back those who left and recruit new people."

FNHP program and policy council leader and AFT vice president Candice Owley told the more than 200 members attending the FNHP’s conference that the vision of our union is for "all health care workers to have the power to deliver quality care.

"It is what we all yearn for and fight for every day, against an industry determined to keep us weak so they can stay strong." Owley called for all health care workers and their unions to stand together and "do battle."

Those who’ve helped lead the charge are, among so many others, Carol Flynn, who’s leaving her post as the Danbury (Conn.) Hospital Nurses’ Association president, and Oregon FNHP president Kathy Schmidt, who’s moving into a leadership position within the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (see page 8). "They are awesome women," said Owley.

Union activist Barbara Rosen, a member of the AFT-affiliated Health Professionals and Allied Employees, was also honored for her courage and "ceaseless efforts" to secure a safe workplace for her peers. Rosen was the victim of an accidental needlestick and used her experience to galvanize other health care professionals—resulting in a state law that mandates safer devices.

The April 20-21 FNHP conference, preceded by a full day of training on safe needle use, featured an exciting array of speakers and panels. Topping the list was Kansas attorney Brad Prochaska, who successfully sued a Wichita hospital for understaffing that resulted in permanent injury to a patient in 1998. Workshop topics included school nursing, liability for nurses, mandatory overtime, workplace violence, and much more.

Look for additional conference coverage in the next issue of Healthwire.